Your Right to Know

The first lady of Virginia bought and held Star Scientific stock while she and her husband, Gov.
Robert McDonnell, were promoting the nutritional-supplements maker,
The Washington Post reported yesterday.

The relationship between the McDonnells and Star Scientific has been the subject of criminal
investigations after loans and gifts that company chief executive Jonnie Williams gave to the
Republican governor were uncovered.

Bill Burck, an attorney for first lady Maureen McDonnell, told the
Post she purchased 6,000 shares of Star Scientific stock on June 1, 2011, the day she
publicly voiced her support for the company at a gathering of physicians and investors.

The first lady’s purchase, which amounted to about $30,000, came a few days after Williams wrote
a $50,000 check to her, according to the paper.

Federal and state authorities are probing the relationship between the McDonnells and
Williams.